In the wake of three local gun violence prevention forums this past week, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, said his aim is to quickly formulate a plan to stem shooting tragedies when he returns to the nation's capital Sunday.

Comments, suggestions and other issues voiced at the three forums, including one Wednesday at Vallejo City Hall, will go into the work of the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force which Thompson heads.

"I'll meet with the vice president (Joe Biden) and we'll have a discussion on where we are going, what I heard from constituents and then we'll continue to work with the task force to come up with a plan," Thompson said Friday.

"What I heard in the town halls was very helpful," Thompson added.

Nearly 200 people packed into the Vallejo Council Chambers for Wednesday's forum. Two others were held in Napa and Santa Rosa this week.

Thompson's forums were held in the wake of last month's school shooting massacre in Connecticut which left 27 children and adults dead. That incident sparked public outrage and demands for action.

A Vietnam veteran and avid hunter, Thompson said the task force will try to find ways to stem and prevent senseless gun violence and tragic incidents, such as the Colorado movie theater shooting last July that left 12 dead and 70 wounded.

His plan is for the task force to formulate a plan soon, and then forward recommendations to Congress the first or second week of February.

Thompson is not the only one working on gun violence prevention efforts. Biden on Friday wrapped up three days of wide-ranging talks on the issue, including meetings with manufacturers of video games, which are often blamed for encouraging violence.

Looking for broader remedies to gun violence, Biden also has expressed interest in fostering technology that would keep a gun from being fired by anyone other than the purchaser.

Meanwhile, at all three local forums, Thompson said he heard strong support for strengthening background checks for those who buy guns, more controls on where guns are sold, and also a need to limit the number of bullets that guns can hold.

Two other strong sentiments, Thompson said, were the need for greater mental health improvements and to make schools more secure through better doors, locks and more resource officers.

Solano County Supervisor Linda Seifert, who attended part of the Vallejo forum, said the congressional task force has a lot of work ahead. She supports gun buy-back programs and other similar efforts.

"Some kinds of regulations to reduce gun violence are long overdue. Every time there's another incident it becomes more obvious and apparent something has to be done," Seifert said.

"It's important that the gun lobby and the people in Congress come together," she added.

In Solano County, one step will be to organize and stage a gun buy-back program in February or March in concert with all police chiefs, the district attorney, sheriff and other agencies, Vallejo Police Chief Joseph Kreins said.

Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis said the buy-back program is a good step but more is needed.

"I'm just hopeful that irrespective of what our feelings are about guns, we start looking at underlying causes of why people kill people with guns or anything else," Davis said.

Further, adults need to limit the amount of violence their children see in movies, TV shows and in other settings, Davis said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact staff writer Sarah Rohrs at srohrs@timesheraldonline.com or (707) 553-6832. Follow her on Twitter @SarahVTH.